Sporty’s, in partnership with Appareo and ForeFlight (Booth 4854), has released a new version of the Stratus line of portable ADS-B In receivers, the Stratus 3. The $699 Stratus 3 replaces the Stratus 2S, which sold for $899. Besides the lower price, the main differences between the Stratus 2S and 3 are the smaller size of the Stratus 3 and new support for other aviation apps besides ForeFlight, by incorporating the industry-standard GDL 90 protocol. Apps now supported, in addition to ForeFlight, include Fltplan Go, FlyQ, WingX, and iFly GPS.
Appareo, which manufactures the Stratus devices, added smart Wi-Fi to the Stratus 3. This allows pilots using an LTE-equipped iPad to communicate via cellular connection (on the ground) while using the iPad’s Wi-Fi to connect to the Stratus. This feature is helpful when a flight plan needs to be changed before takeoff. Smart Wi-Fi also allows users to set the Stratus Wi-Fi network with password protection or hide it so others nearby can’t try to connect their devices to the Stratus. This is “a critical feature for airline and military pilots,” according to Sporty’s.
New ADS-B In weather products are expected to be available later this year on the U.S. ADS-B ground station network, and these will be available on the Stratus 3 and 2S, in addition to other ADS-B In receivers. These include echo tops, lightning, icing and turbulence forecasts, center weather advisories, and graphical Airmets.
The Stratus 3 is a dual-band ADS-B In receiver with built-in AHRS, and ForeFlight users can see 3D displays of nearby traffic when using ForeFlight’s synthetic vision and the Stratus 3. Other Stratus 3 features include continual updating of weather information when using ForeFlight with the screen switched off and it also is equipped with a built-in flight data recorder.